Cheyenne-iversary

I have to be honest, moving to Cheyenne, Wyoming was never part of “The Plan.” I’m not sure I ever really had a good idea of where I would end up after college, but I can promise you Cheyenne was not on the short list. Or the long list for that matter. When the opportunity first came about, I wasn’t sure I could do it. Even as we were house-hunting, I had my doubts. Could I move to a state I’d only been to once? Would I find a job? Make friends? Could I be that far away from my family?

With little more than dreams of mountain adventures and blind optimism that everything would work out,  we packed up one week after our wedding and headed out west. It was easily the scariest thing I’ve ever done, and sometime still feels that way. In many ways, it has been the longest and shortest year of my life, filled with anticipation, adventures, doubts, successes and challenges.

Over the last year, the initial questions and concerns I had about taking this leap have been all been addressed, some more than once. Overall, though, my worries have been relieved. Turns out, I could move to a state I’d only spent a couple days in. I did find a job (or two), and made friends. Being so far from family and friends is an ongoing challenge, but I’m not sure that’s something that gets easier when they’re such a great group to miss. We have been incredibly lucky that they’ve all been so willing to come out here to see us, or make time to see us when we have been home.

This move falls into the category of “Things I Better Do Now, or I Maybe Never Will,” and after one year, I can say I’m glad I did. I’ve not only become a resident of this city, but part of a community that cares about its members. I wasn’t sure this was possible in a city 30 times the size of the one I grew up in, but from what I’ve seen, it is. Within a few days of moving in, we had no less than four neighbors ask if we needed to borrow their lawnmowers. That may seem like a small gesture, but for these Iowa natives, that kind of nicety made us feel right at home.

Here’s to our one-year Cheyenne-iversary!